A Beautiful Day for a Beautiful Cause at Queens University Belfast (by Lucy Kelly)

Queen’s Pro-Life Society gives us all a chance to meet new people with a shared passion for the pro-life movement. Every member has the opportunity to learn from each other and improve their confidence by engaging with people on the streets outside Queen’s University. Every Wednesday afternoon from 2 until 4pm we set up an information stall, to educate people on the beautiful development, dignity and humanity of the unborn child in contrast to the brutal, callous reality of abortion. On Wednesday the 29th March it was uplifting to see a lot of people approach us in encouragement, agreeing with our pro-life viewpoint, many taking information leaflets and signing petitions.

A man approached us and began debating very aggressively that we were “anti-women”, a major misconception of the pro-life argument. However, we explained to him that we believe that both the life of the mother and her baby must be protected. Abortion is never the answer. He claimed initially that it wasn’t a baby until born yet he became silent when we showed images of the basic biological development of the unborn child, its clear humanity compared to the poisoning and dismembering of a baby when aborted. It resonated with me the influence that the media had on his view on abortion before we had discussed it. He used phrases initially that we must “trust women” and it’s a woman’s “choice”. In response, we emphasized that the mere fact that we have chosen something does not justify what we have chosen. When a woman is pregnant there are clearly two bodies involved and just because one is dependent on the other doesn’t make that human any less human. We shouldn’t “trust” anyone to determine whether another human being should live or die. The man left with food for thought.

A group school boys also approached us and brought up the situation if a woman is raped. We made it very clear that rape is an extremely traumatic, disgusting violation of a woman and must be treated with compassion and empathy. However, abortion doesn’t ‘un-rape’ a woman or remove the violence that has been perpetrated against her. Abortion is punishing a child for the crimes of another, answering violence with violence. We went on to say that women need emotional and medical support throughout and after their pregnancy for as long as they need. We made clear that we cannot rank the value and dignity of people based on the circumstances of their conception. They left with much more understanding and genuinely seemed to take into consideration what we were saying and reconsider their own views.

We are the pro-life generation and we will not be silenced by those who disagree or by the poisoning words of the media. No matter the complaints that we receive or the negativity thrown in our direction Queen’s Pro-Life Society will stay strong! It truly was a beautiful day for a beautiful cause because the lives of beautiful unborn babies are worth fighting for.